Pendant-switch.



' R. B. BENJAMIN.

PENDANT SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOVa 18, 1910.

1,170,599. Patented Feb. 8,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. B. BENJAMIN.

PENDANT SWITCH.

APPLlCATION F ILED NOV=I8, 1910.

1,170,599. Patented Feb. 8,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, wmmm y 7 f To all whom it may Improvements in Pendant-Switches,-

warren reruns orricn REUBEN B. BENJAMIN, F CHICAGQ, ILLINGXS; ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN ELECTRId I MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F CHIQAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Application filed November 13, 1910.

camera."

Be itknown that a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, iorming a part of this specification."

My invention pertains to pendant switches, that is to say, to switches of the character which are adapted to be suspended from a pair of flexible conductors.

It is the principal object 'oi my invention to improve upon the existing forms of pend.- ant switch, and to provide one which will be of a simple, durable and efiicient construction, which can be readily taken apart for inspection and other purposes, and which can .be placed upon the market at a low cost.

A pendant switch constructed in accordance with my invention is described, by way of example, in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the switch; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the casing, insulating base, and related parts, the major portion of the switch proper, however, being shown in side eleva; tion. The section is taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a ver'icai sectional view looking at the switch when turned through 90 degrees, the switch members being shown as cut on the broken line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4: is a sectional. plan, the section being taken on the line ii of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, the section, however, being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is an inverted plan of the switch; Fig. 7 is a perspective view, on a. smali scale, showing the switch blade and the; operating mechanism therefor; Fig. 8 is a hori 'Zo'ntal section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig.

3, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 9 is a sectional detail. view showing the switch blade operating mechanism, the section being taken on the broken line 9-9 of Fig. 3; Fig. 10 is a horizontal detail view of the switch blade operating mechanism, the section being taken on the iine 10-10 of Fig. 2; and Fig .,11 is a perspec- I, REUBEN l3. BENJAMIN,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. s, 1916.

Serial No. 592,989.

tire view showing one of the switch contacts and its securing means separated from the remainder of the device.

he pendant switch'shown in the accompanying drawings'has been constructed by me, and I have found it to be a convenient and eliicient device. It is for this reason that I have chosen this device as a good example of an embodiment of my invention. It is to be understood however that the invention may be embodied in different de-' vices, and that various portions of the device which I shall hereinafter describe may be used in other connections, without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

In the construction shown in the drawings, 12 designates the upper, and .13 the lower, portion of a twopart cylindrical casing, the parts of which are adapted to be secured together by means of threaded portions 1d and 15 respectively with which the parts are formed. This casing contains an insulating base 16 of cylindrical form, the lower end of which carries the switch mechanism (to be hereinafter described) and the upper end of which is formed with a pair of recesses which the conductors by which the switch is suspended are led to binding terminals 19 and 20 which are connected with the contacts which are to be bridged by the switch. The recesses 17 and 18 are disposed so as to form between them a neck 21, the edges of which form shoulders which are adapted to bind against the conductors entering the recesses 17 and 18, as will now be described.

An insulating disk 22 is placed in the part 12 of the casing, above the upper end of the base 16, and is prevented from falling out of the casing, when the parts thereof are separated, by an inwardly extending bead 23 with which the casing part 12 is formed. The disk 22 is'provided with a central apertureQ i, through which the conductors may pass, in entering the recesses 1'? and 18. The casing part 12 is formed at its'upper end with an open ended conical head 25 containing a pair of insulating gripping members 26. The gripping members 26 are made so as to form, between the upper ends thereof, an elliptical opening having gripping edges 27, between which the conductors, shown in 17 and 18 respectively through dotted lines inJFig. 2.

and designated as 28 and 29 respectively, are securely grasped when the gripping members 26 are forced up into the head 25 by the pressure exerted by the base 16 when the casing parts 12 and 13 are screwed together. Coil springs 30 are inserted between the gripping members 26 and tend to force them apart, so that, when the parts 12 and 13 of the casing are separated and the insulating base removed, and the insulating disk 22 falls upon the bead 23, the gripping members 26 may be separated, by the springs 30, to provide sufficient room between them for the insertion or withdrawal of the conductors 28 and 29.

Supposing that the casing parts 12 and 13 have been separated and the insulating base 16 withdrawn; that the insulating disk 22 is resting upon the head 23; and that the gripping members 26 have been separated by the springs 30,and are resting upon the disk 22; it will be seen that the conductors 28 and 29 may be inserted easily through the wide space between the gripping members 26 and through the opening 24 of the disk 22, into the recesses 17 and 18 of the base 16. When this has been done, the base 16 maybe replaced in the casing, theslack of the conductors 28 and 29 being pulled out through the members 26. Upon the parts 12 and 13 being screwed together, the upper end of the insulating base will press upon the disk 22, and thereby upon the 26 and will force these members up into the head 25 of the casing part 12. The result of this will be that, owing to the wedge action of the gripping members 26 in the conical head 25, these members will be forced together and the conductors 28 and 29 will therefore be securely gripped between the gripping edges 27 of these members. At the same time the conductors 28 and 29 are separately gripped between the edges of the neck 21, between the recesses 17 and 18, and the edge of the aperture 24 in the disk 22, the aperture 24 being made of a convenient size for this purpose. The conductors are therefore gripped at two points, the double cord made up of the conductors 28 and 29 being gripped between the edges 27 of the members 26, and the separate conductors being gripped between the edges of the neck 21 and the edge of the-aperture 24 in the disk 22 By this means a very secure holding of the conductors is obtained, since, even if the grip effected by the edges 27 of the members 26, should fail, the conductors will still be secured between the edges of the neck 21 and the edge of the aperture 24 in the disk 22. p The danger of strain being imparted to the binding terminals is thus gripping members entirely precluded.

The base 1.6 is formed with a chamber 31 opening at the lower end of the base, which form a horizontal lug 34 which is adapted to lie against a shoulder upon the base 16 and to be secured against said shoulder by a screw 35 which passes up through a screw hole formed in the base and enters the par ticular binding terminal to which the contact plate is connected. By tightening the screws 35, the contact plates 32 and 33, and the corresponding binding terminals 20 and 19, are securely held in position. The lugs 34- are provided with upwardly extending cars 36 which enter corresponding recesses 37 formed in the base. These ears define the positionof the contact plates and prevent them from swinging about the screws 35 when strain is placed upon them by the insertion of the switch blade between them.

A cross bar 37 is secured against a shoulder formed upon the base 16 by means of a. pair of screws extending downwardly v through the base and entering the cross bar. Rigidly secured to the cross bar 37 are a pair of parallel, downwardly extending, legs 39 and 40 which are connected at their ends by means of a pin 41. The switch blade 43 is rockably mounted upon the pin 4 it is formed of a strip of metal bent to 'iform a pair of legs 44 and 45 having holes .'at their lower end through which the pin 41 passes, these legs being placed close be side the legs 39 and 40 above referred to, and within the same. Between the legs'44 and 45, and also rockably mounted upon the pin4l, is placed a U-shaped member 46 having outwardly extending arms 47 and 48, ofwhich the arm 47 is in the form of a segment of a circle and the arm 48 is bent over to form a horizontal stop 49.

The leg '39 is formed at its upper portion with a curved surface 50 upon which is adapted to slide a latch 51 which is pivoted to the leg 45 of the blade 43 and extends through a slot 52 formed in the leg 44 of the switch blade, a tension spring 53 being connected between the latch 51 and the pin 41 to hold the latch normally in engagement with the curved surface 50 of the leg 39, upon one side or the other of a projection 54 which extends upwardly from the curved edge 50. A coil spring 55 is wound upon the pin 41 and has its ends ex tended upwardly to engage upon either side of the stop 49 (which, it will be remembered, forms part of the U-shaped member 4(3) and the latch 51 (see Figs. 3, 9 and 10).

li e 1 '1 1e1 s, one we hetreer the conis L- to i ridge the latter. this movement has'been completed 1T8 will he in a position corresponding d nieniher 4G to t shown in J but with the member i nriil' t .ed in the opposite direction and the ntely helatch 51 upon the opeosite side of: the pro witch blade jection 5 to that shown in Fig. If it is with respect to desired to open the switch, pressure is no e 4 If, "m'o'ever, the plied to the knob 60, whereupon an operacked about tin pin 'tion precisely similar to thzit described oi? the nrni i7 'xiill above, but in an opposite direetion occors.

h 1 5 will ggfrgluwill be seen from the above that thev is absolutely positi e in its opernhe hitch is nlti a distance snfiicient here being no chance Whatever of the :e projection S exbeeoiningstool; in e position intertlie curved surface its on 1124i o'zl' position. Further-4 1 the anal-an c and ln'eeking'of contact itch is always effected by a shop iped n: iction, it being inpessible to open the e to snap across rewrites, or close it, slowly. V

t nts 32 and 33. operating the switch the casing 13 Will 1 ing movement rlinnrily be grasped between two of the '11,) lfihyi e effected ingrers and the thumb placed against the 0 member, :tormed oi cei trel projection of the operating inem- I H, The operator can tell by the feel e operating member in which direction such for instance, hled tin eon. This All insulating t 1-: 1st be niov 3 to more the switch blade,

' in this direction without 59 and (30 (111i more .5 'gggif shii 1.11;; the position of the thumb Withl l fi l'C'S WCt to the egeroiting member. V v 1 g lljhnt I claim new, ani desire to secure upon the 1 1* e y Letters Bates is: as l. in a snap switch, to combination of a moved in one of "h" ind icnting i L e ortinegbase nevi a suitable channel provided r." n p A 1 e n, e pair 0. stationerf contact me1nl to show toe on the r po, iion oi? the Ike lo \"QL part 1 bars :rrnngee Within said channel along the of the cosine; is firmed with en ops-tn" sides thereof, P5111 oi. hangers mounted l L. per-1m re; the liloek 5) and legs 5 and G to mi nd i :ethro 'g the free ends of said hangers, switch blade Jie to the linnii oi"- :1 person desirin' pair of legs pivotnlly mounted on sold pivot, a step mounted on one of said and arranged beside such switch (to a lateh extending between the two 's of said si eh blade and adapted to i kg; 4e upon either side of: said step, a spring iled out s itl. pivot between the legs 0 i "dude and ins; its free ends engaging or said latch, and a rockng lever piw l on said ivot substantially Jshaped an d wronged; between the legs of reetien, said snap switch, one of the legs of said rooku: being; ins lever having an inturned lug mounted rtion o" hot/w en e ends of said spring and -16 the other 1 having n coin portion arranged to engn E Jl. hitch end. hit the some out of (engagement with said stop when the lever is rocked.

Ii pendent switch eoniirising an inl ting; hnse, :r :enmct 'erried thereby, a we able C(YllijilCl', for engaging said contact, substantially c ,'lii.- lricel casing means at the low end of 'i switch and operating 5; movable contact comprising 0 within said channel, pivot secured between 1 an upward nieni- We her 5? W11 'icked alien,

swit h n or posite the member li 11 o creep-on 4 sense the blade 23 an operating member pivoted near the lower end of said switch, said operating member comprising wing portions extending in op posite directions from the pivotal pdint and movable from a position substantially with in said casing to a position extending outside of said casing, and comprising also a central projection between said wing portions extending farther downward than said wing portions.

3. A snap switch comprising a contact, a fixed member having a stop thereon, a piv oted blade adapted to be moved into and out of connection with said contact and having a pair of legs, one of said legs having an opening therethrongh, a latch extending between said legs and carried by said blade one end of said latch extending through said opening and adapted to engage upon either side of the stop of said fixed member, a spring for cfi'ecting the movement of said blade in both directions, a spring secured at one end to said latch for holding it in latching position; and means for moving said latch out of engagement with the stop of said fixed member when the first said spring has been 4:. A switch comprising an insulating base, a-contact carried thereby, a movable contact for engaging said contact, casing means for said base and contacts and operating means for said movable contact comprising a rocking member pivoted near a Wall of said casing, said rocking member having wing portions extending in opposite directions from the pivotal point and movable from a position substantially Within said casing to a position extending outside of said casing and comprising also a central projection between said wing portions extending farther outward than said Wing portions.

In witness wl'lereof, I have hereunto subscribed iny name in the presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN.

W itnesses E. R. KING, ittiannn REYNOLDS. 

